Residential and commercial buildings represent a prime opportunity to improve energy efficiency and sustainability in the United States. The buildings sector alone accounts for 40% of the United States' yearly energy consumption (40 quadrillion BTUs, or “quads”, out of 100 total), and 8% of the world's energy use. Lighting and thermal management each represent about 30% of the energy used within a typical building, which corresponds to around twelve quads each of yearly energy consumption in the US. Windows cover an estimated area of about 2,500 square km in the US and are a critical component of building energy efficiency as they strongly affect the amount of natural light and solar gain that enters a building. Recent progress has been made toward improving window energy efficiency through the use of inexpensive static coatings that either retain heat in cold climates (low emissive films) or reject solar heat gain in warm climates (near-infrared rejection films).
Currently, static window coatings can be manufactured at relatively low cost. However, these window coatings are static and not well suited for locations with varying climates. An electrochromic (EC) window coating overcomes these limitations by enhancing the window performance in all climates. EC window coatings undergo a reversible change in optical properties when driven by an applied potential. Traditional EC materials, such as WO3, Nb2O5, and NiO, primarily modulate radiation in the visible spectral region, while radiation in the near-infrared (NIR) spectral region remains either unchanged or switches simultaneously with visible region of light. Further, performance of EC materials may degrade from use over time as a result of repeated exposure to radiation in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region.